Human release of oil into the environment is an ongoing environmental concern. An oil spill is generally understood as an evacuation of liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment due to human activity. This may be from oil tankers, offshore platforms, drilling rigs, wells, or a number of other sources. Public attention is often drawn to marine oil spills, where oil is released into the ocean or coastal waters.
Oil spills are known to cause numerous environmental problems. Seabirds and marine mammals that are exposed to oil spills may suffer from a number of conditions. Oil reduces the insulating capacity of plumage and fur, and the ingestion of oil can cause various internal complications. Oil also affects marine flora because it reduces the penetrating depth of sunlight thus retarding the process of photosynthesis for underwater plants.
A number of approaches are presently used to cleanup oil spills. The techniques used depend on many factors including the type of oil spilled, the temperature of the water, and the affected environment. Known cleanup methods include the use of microorganisms or biological agents to breakdown or remove oil, controlled burning, the use of dispersants and dredging, skimming, and vacuum and centrifuge techniques where oil is sucked up with water and then separated from the water with a centrifuge.
Current methods and systems are not adequate to quickly cleanup oil spills, and thereby minimize the environmental impact of those spills. Current boom apparatuses are passive meaning they are only used to passively contain an oil spill but fail to actively aid in cleaning the oil. It is therefore necessary to develop an active boom method and system for cleaning oil spills.